About Shipwrecks of New Jersey Central, by Gary Gentile

As suggested by the title and series name, this volume covers the most well-known wrecks sunk off the central geographical coast of New Jersey: from Manasquan Inlet to Egg Harbor Inlet, just north of Atlantic City

For each of the wrecks covered, a statistical sidebar provides basic information such as the dates of construction and loss, previous names (if any), tonnage and dimensions, builder and owner (at time of loss), port of registry, type of vessel and how propelled, cause of sinking, location (loran coordinates if known), and depth In most cases, an historical photograph or illustration of the ship leads the text Throughout the book is scattered a selection of color underwater photographs, some of the wrecks, more often of typical marine life found in the area

This volume is full of fascinating narratives of triumph and tragedy, of heroism and disgrace, of human nature at its best and it's basest These books are not about wood and steel, but about flesh and blood, for every shipwreck saga is a human story Ships may founder, run aground, burn, collide with other vessels, or be torpedoed by a German U-boat In every case, however, what is emphatically important is what happened to the people who became victims of casualty: how they survived, how they died

Also included are descriptions of the wrecks as they appear on the bottom At the end of each volume is a bibliography of suggested reading, and a list of more than 400 loran numbers of wrecks in and adjacent to the area covered

About the Author Gary Gentile started his diving career in 1970 Since then, he has made more than 1,000 decompression dives, over 100 of them on the Andrea Doria He has specialized in wreck diving and shipwreck research, concentration on wrecks along the East Coast, from Newfoundland to Key West, and in the Great Lakes

He has written dozens of articles for magazines and has published thousands of photographs in books, periodicals, newspapers, brochures, museum displays, film and television He lectures extensively on wilderness and underwater topics, and conducts seminars on advanced wreck diving techniques and high-tech diving equipment He is the author of several books on nonfiction diving and nautical and shipwreck history